A nibble refers to how many bits?

A nibble refers to how many bits?

• A. 4-bits / half-byte / 1 hex char
• B. 8-bits / byte
• C. 2-bits / quarter-byte
• D. 16-bits / two-bytes

Answer: (A)

Think of a nibble as a four-bit chunk of data. Four bits can encode 16 different values, which is exactly what a single hexadecimal digit uses (0–9 and A–F). That’s why a nibble is also called a half-byte or a hex character. By contrast, a byte is eight bits, a quarter-byte would be two bits, and sixteen bits is two bytes. So the nibble correctly refers to 4 bits.

Think of a nibble as a four-bit chunk of data. Four bits can encode 16 different values, which is exactly what a single hexadecimal digit uses (0–9 and A–F). That’s why a nibble is also called a half-byte or a hex character. By contrast, a byte is eight bits, a quarter-byte would be two bits, and sixteen bits is two bytes. So the nibble correctly refers to 4 bits.